Page 145 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

by individuals and the resulting images proviticd to the
group, or it can be guided by a leader/facilitato• in a group
setting.

The size of the group is best limited to six or eight people,
although more can be accommodated. A typical use of the
process is to ask a group of corporate participants to describe
where they "see" the corporation ten years from now in an
ideal world. Since the key to successful use of the techinque
is to get the members of a group to respond to their visions,
facilitation skills are especially important. In order to in-
spire group members to feel free to let their imaginations
run wild, the facilitator must encourage them to shed their
inhibitions.

A consideration that tends to limit the applicability of the
technique is the fact that, according to neurolinguistic theory,
while many people (60 to 80 percent of the population) are
"visuals," the remainder are "verbals," and "feelers." 18 If a
person is not in the "visual" category, he or she won't feel
comfortable with this exercise unless the facilitator succeeds
in presenting the concept attractively and convincingly.

7016. CREATIVE LEAPS

Creative imaging is one of four techniques that
are collectively know as creative leaps. 19 The
creative leap is a powerful method for devel-
oping breakthrough concepts. It occurs
when the group jumps to idealistic solu-
tions, then moves back in time to prepare
a plan to make them happen, solving problem-
atic issues as it goes.

There are four primary ways in which a
company or group can train itself to take
creative leaps:

1. Creating a description of what it wants the
company to be like in the future.

2. Creating a description of the ideal competitor in the future.

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